The irreducible floating hip: a unique presentation of a rare injury

Clinical Outcome of Floating Hip with Irreducible Hip Dislocation and Distal Third Femur Fracture with Intra-Articular Extension: A Rare Case Report

Introduction

Floating hip with hip dislocation is a very high-energy, devastating, and rare injury whose treatment is very challenging, and the outcome is usually poor.

Case Report

A 35-year-old man presented posterior wall fracture acetabulum and dislocation of the hip with ipsilateral distal third shaft femur fracture with intra-articular extension fracture and un-displaced patella fracture. We achieved a reduction of hip dislocation by a knee-spanning external fixator followed by open reduction and internal fixation with anatomical locking plate for distal third femur fracture with intra-articular extension followed by open reduction and internal fixation for posterior wall of acetabulum with recon plate in Kocher-Langenbeck approach in stages. The patient was able to partial weight bear after 12 weeks of the injury and mobilized independently without any support after 5 months.

Conclusion

Floating hip with hip dislocation is difficult to manage but reducing the hip dislocation with knee spanning external fixator and management in stages will reduce the complications and better outcome.

Management of floating hip injury: a review of the literature

Aim

The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of floating hip injury and attempt to provide a management algorithm.

Methods

PubMed was searched using the terms 'Floating hip' or 'acetabular fracture' and 'Ipsilateral femoral fracture' or 'pelvic fracture' and 'Ipsilateral femoral fracture'. One author performed a preliminary review of the abstracts and references of the retrieved articles.

Results

The mean injury severe score reported was higher than 20. Chest and abdominal injuries, as well as fractures at other sites, were the most common associated injuries. Despite the high disability rate, surgery remained the preferred option for managing these injuries. The surgical timing varied from a few hours to several days and was subjected to the principles of damage control orthopedics. Although, in most cases, fixation of femoral fractures took precedence over pelvic or acetabular fractures, there was still a need to consider the impact of damage control orthopedics, associated injuries, and surgeon's considerations and preferences. Posttraumatic arthritis, neurological deficits, heterotopic ossification, femoral head necrosis, femoral nonunion, and limb inequality were common complications of the floating hip injury.

Conclusions

The severity of such injuries often exceeds that of an isolated injury and often requires specialized multidisciplinary treatment. In the management of these complex cases, the complexity and severity of the injury should be fully assessed, and an appropriate surgical plan should be developed to perform definitive surgery as early as possible, with attention to prevention of complications during the perioperative period.

Concurrent ipsilateral fractures of acetabular posterior wall and femoral shaft associated with posterior hip dislocation: A case report and literature review of a rare injury

INTRODUCTION

A floating hip injury involving the acetabulum and femur, often complicated by hip dislocation, necessitates a timely and appropriate management strategy to preserve the extremity and patient well-being.

CASE PRESENTATION

We present a case of a 20-year-old male with concurrent fractures of the acetabular posterior wall, a comminuted femoral shaft, and posterior hip dislocation. Reduction of the dislocated hip posed a challenge due to the femoral shaft fracture. We successfully employed an innovative technique, using pins proximal and distal to the shaft fracture in conjunction with a temporary external fixator, later replaced by an interlocking nail after hip reduction. Subsequently, we addressed the acetabular fracture through a posterior hip approach, enabling the patient to regain full weight-bearing capacity within a few months.

DISCUSSION

In managing concurrent injuries in a floating hip, particularly when a femoral shaft fracture is involved, innovative approaches, such as the one described in this study, are crucial for timely hip reduction. Following hip reduction, a series of surgeries are required to address the multiple lower extremity injuries, prioritizing those with the highest risk of adverse events and neurovascular complications.

CONCLUSION

Urgent procedures for multiple fractures in orthopedic trauma surgery are pivotal for the best long-term outcomes. Prioritizing these urgent procedures, even through unconventional transient methods when conventional means are unavailable, can prevent long-term complications such as avascular necrosis. Effective and timely management is paramount for optimal patient recovery.

Concomitant ipsilateral acetabular and femoral fractures – an appraisal of outcomes and complications in 34 patients

Concomitant ipsilateral femoral and acetabular fractures are complex injuries which result from high-velocity trauma. Surgical treatment is the accepted management of such injuries. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the outcomes and study the complications in patients treated for concomitant ipsilateral acetabular and femoral fractures (type ‘B’ floating hip injuries). This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital on patients operated for type B floating hip injuries, who had completed a minimum of one-year follow-up after the surgery and whose complete records were available. Those with floating hip injuries with pelvic fractures were excluded. All patients were operated on the femoral side first, followed by the acetabular side. 34 patients were included ; most of them were young males. A road traffic accident was the most common mode, with a dashboard injury being the most common mechanism of injury. No association between the type of acetabular and femoral fractures was found. The clinical (measured with Harris hip score) and radiological (Matta’s method) outcomes at the latest follow-up were excellent or good in >60% cases and had a significant association with the quality of reduction on the post-operative radiographs. Com- plications were seen in 12 out of the 34 patients. Type B floating hips injuries can be managed well with acceptable short-term results by following a femur first strategy. However, patients must be informed of the possible complications and the probabilities of poorer outcomes when compared to isolated acetabular or femoral fractures.

Functional outcome and health-related quality of life following ipsilateral femoral and acetabular fractures: a retrospective analysis

INTRODUCTION

The combination of ipsilateral femoral and acetabular fractures is known in the literature as the "Floating hip injury". The primary aim of this study is to assess both generic and specific patient-reported outcomes and the factors affecting the quality of life in patients sustaining this injury, while the secondary aim was to assess the injury patterns and the associated complications.

METHODS

A retrospective study including 27 patients according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. EQ5D5L and Oxford hip score (OHS) were used. The mean age was 28 years (±10.1 SD) and 21 patients (77.8%) were males. The mean follow-up was 7 years (± 3.1 years SD).

RESULTS

Median OHS was 46.5 (IQR: 31.5-48). The median EQ5D score was 0.919 (95% CI: 0.601-1). The mean EQ5D index value was 0.679 ± 0.442 (95% CI: 0.492-0.865). In this young cohort of patients, this drop in the mean EQ5D index value has led to a loss of a mean of 2.2 Quality-adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Through multivariate analysis, we found that the quality of life was mainly affected by the occurrence of end-stage arthritis, the presence of non-recovered traumatic sciatic nerve injury, and the occurrence of infection.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show that the quality of life of those patients was significantly affected. These findings can be beneficial in counselling patients sustaining this complex injury and could be helpful in the discussion of the prognosis and in planning postoperative rehabilitation and support.

Treatment and Complications of Patients With Ipsilateral Acetabular and Femur Fractures: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to review the treatment of patients with ipsilateral acetabular and femur fractures to provide descriptive demographic data, injury pattern classification, treatment, and evaluate the complication profile reflective of current practices.

STUDY DESIGN

Multicenter retrospective cohort.

SETTING

Eight Level 1 Trauma Centers.

PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS

One hundred one patients met inclusion criteria.

INTERVENTION

Surgical treatment of both the acetabular and femur fractures.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

The complications evaluated include avascular necrosis, heterotopic ossification, posttraumatic arthritis, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and superficial/deep infection, fracture union, and secondary surgeries.

RESULTS

Forty-three patients had 31 type fractures (29A; 11B, and 3C), 60 had 32 type (37A, 8B; 15C), and 8 had 33 type (1A, 4B, 3C) femur fractures; 10 patients had combinations involving more than 1 femur fracture pattern. There were 35 62A type fractures, 47 62B, and 19 62C acetabular fractures. Age of 45 or older was associated with marginal impaction (P = 0.001). The aggregate infection rate was 17%. More than 30% of patients required secondary surgeries. The rate of avascular necrosis was higher in acetabular fractures combined with proximal femur fractures (P < 0.05). The rate of deep venous thrombosis was associated with increased age and time to surgical fixation (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We report the largest review of the surgical treatment and complications of ipsilateral acetabular and femoral fractures. This study provides useful information regarding the complications and provides some treatment recommendations regarding these injuries.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Low-Energy Traumatic Obturator Hip Dislocation with Ipsilateral Femoral Shaft Fracture in a Patient with Omolateral Knee Arthroplasty

Ipsilateral obturator hip dislocation and femoral shaft fracture are rare. We report such a case in an older woman after a low-energy injury. She had a knee prostheses in the same limb. The patient was treated by open manipulative reduction of the luxation without opening joint and open reduction and internal fixation of the femur with angular stability plate and screws. We could not find a similar case in the literature. An early diagnosis of the dislocation is crucial in order to obtain good results. Great awareness and radiologic examination are fundamental to achieve precocious diagnosis of both these rare combined injuries, as treatment in these cases is considered an emergency. The first step was an attempt to reduce the dislocation by closed means but it failed. Then we performed a short approach at the trochanteric region and used Lambotte forceps to manoeuvre the proximal femur without opening the joint achieving reduction. Thereafter the femoral shaft fracture underwent open reduction and internal fixation with an angular stable plate. After a 2-year follow-up the outcome was very good.